Bandits Host Surge in West Semifinal: Trip to CW25 at Stake

(Preview: Western Conference Semifinal)

As the Calgary Surge and Vancouver Bandits jockeyed for position atop the Western Conference all season, a postseason matchup appeared all but destined.

Now, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the West get ready to face off at Langley Events Centre on Saturday, with a trip to the Western Conference Final at Championship Weekend — and a matchup against the host Winnipeg Sea Bears — on the line.

Live broadcast coverage of the West Semifinal tilt begins at 12:30 p.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. MT / 3:30 p.m. ET on TSN, CEBL+, TSN+ and NLSE.

The Surge and Bandits enter the matchup as the two hottest teams in the league, each having won their last four regular-season games. Meanwhile, Calgary pushed its win streak to five straight with a 103-95 Play-In win over the Edmonton Stingers on Thursday to advance to the Western Conference Semifinal.

It was an effort led by the floor general tandem of Evan Gilyard II (28 points, five assists) and Jameer Nelson Jr. (26 points, seven assists and two steals). The duo not only accounted for over 50 per cent of the Surge’s scoring production on the night, but also led the way in Target Score Time as Gilyard II and Nelson Jr. scored all of Calgary’s points once the clocks stopped.

“It’s super special and we’re super spoiled having both of them,” Surge head coach Caleb Canales said of the pairing after the game. “Both are knocking on the door of an NBA contract. They play both ends at a high level, so we’ve been very spoiled by both of them.”

On the other side, the Bandits look to begin their postseason journey of retribution on the right foot. Vancouver made it to the Championship Final last year before ultimately losing to the Niagara River Lions.

And it was clear that the West Coast squad had nothing but redemption on its mind leading into 2025, as this year’s Bandits have been on a mission, maintaining pole position in the conference for much of the season. An effort that stemmed largely from their dominance on both ends of the floor — boasting the league’s No. 1 offence (98.8 points per game) and second-ranked defence (88.4 points against per game).

Saturday’s matchup also won’t be the first time the West rivals meet in the playoffs, as Vancouver and Calgary are plenty familiar with one another in a single-elimination setting. The pair have faced off in the Western Conference Final in back-to-back seasons leading into this year, and fittingly, those battles were split evenly — the Surge winning in 2023 (then losing to the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Final) and the Bandits coming out on top in 2024.

Season series

If there’s any squad that won’t be intimidated at the prospect of heading into Vancouver to take on a top-seeded Bandits team, it’s the Surge.

For starters, Calgary hasn’t been far behind in terms of two-way production as it ranks second on offence (95.3) and first on defence (87.2). Beyond that, the Surge also hold a bit of a mental edge, considering they swept the regular-season series (3-0) against the Bandits this year.

Aside from the last game, which came down to a Gilyard game-winning triple, the first two contests were fairly one-sided as Calgary won them by an average margin of 16.0 points.

Victories that were spearheaded by the Surge’s trademark defence as they held the top-scoring and most efficient offence in the CEBL to just 87 points per game on 43 per cent shooting throughout the three games.

Players to watch

Saturday’s contest features top-end talent on both sides. Between the Surge and Bandits, five 2025 CEBL award finalists will be taking the floor.

Mitch Creek, in the running for league MVP, will presumably leave his mark in the West Semifinal against a Calgary team he’s found success against individually. The Aussie enters the matchup having averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds on a 52.5 per cent field goal clip in those appearances.

Manning the frontcourt with Creek will be Tyrese Samuel, who’s up for Canadian Player of the Year alongside Calgary’s Sean Miller-Moore. Samuel has turned heads in his first CEBL season as the only player to average a double-double (21.4 points, 10.8 rebounds) this year. Bandits fans will also be hoping for a repeat showing from his last game against the Surge, when the Montreal native put up a team-best 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting.

Meanwhile, Miller-Moore has done his fair share of damage against the Bandits as a Surge mainstay the last three years. The two-time CEBL All-Canadian enters Saturday having averaged 23 points on 52.6 per cent shooting in three games against Vancouver this season, including a game-high 27-point showing in July.

As for Calgary, expect plenty from the two-way tandem of Nelson Jr. and Greg Brown III — both vying for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Nelson Jr. set a new single-season CEBL steals record this season with 57 in 19 games, while his 3.0 steals per game led the league by a full steal over the next closest player.

Brown III was second in the CEBL for both blocks per game (1.8) and total blocks (41) this year. He’s also been highly productive against the Bandits in 2025, averaging 22.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in three appearances.

2025 CEBL Playoff Schedule

Eastern Conference Semifinal – Saturday, Aug. 16 – SSS at OTT – 1 p.m. ET – Centre Slush Puppie – Gatineau, QC (TSN, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE)

Western Conference Semifinal – Saturday, Aug. 16 – CGY at VAN – 12:30 p.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. MT / 3:30 p.m. ET – Langley Events Centre (TSN, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE)

CW25 – Eastern Conference Final – Friday, Aug. 22 – TBD at NRL – 5 p.m. CDT / 6 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE)

CW25 – Western Conference Final – Friday, Aug. 22 – WPG at TBD – 7:30 p.m. CDT / 8:30 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE)

CW25 – CEBL Championship Final – Sunday, Aug. 24 – TBD at TBD – 6 p.m. CDT / 7 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE)

For the full 2025 CEBL schedule, please visit cebl.ca/games.